Ordinarily a moralist writer, in this novel Fielding creates a comedy of romance, by superimposing the positive act of the imagination on the raw material of the real world. It is ultimately both instructive and entertaining. Here Fielding parodies his own previous novels in this story of a young man resisting the many attempts to seduce him.

In the late 1920s, the art publisher H. Piazza produced a twelve-volume version of The 1001 Nights that was one of the most beautiful ever made. It included splendid illustrations by Mohammed Racim and wonderful miniatures by painter Leon Carre.
Today, Assouline is publishing an abridged version of this masterpiece, which includes the most famous and most enchanting of the tales, from the story of King Shahryar, to the story of Sinbad the sailor, Ali Baba and the forty thieves, or Aladdin and the magic lamp… all told by the beautiful and sensual Shahrazad.

The Caballero's Way by O. Henry

In this short story, O. Henry introduces The Cisco Kid, who is a ruthless caballero on horseback. Cisco warns, “Don't you monkey with my Lulu girl, or I’ll tell you what I'll do…” But you have to listen to the story to find out exactly what he would do.

This volume is designed to present biographical, critical, and bibliographical information on Mark Twain’s best-known or most important short stories. Following Harold Bloom’s editor’s note and introduction is a detailed biography of Mark Twain, discussing major life events and important literary accomplishments. A plot summary of each short story follows, tracing significant themes, patterns, and motifs in the work, and an annotated list of characters supplies brief information on the main characters in each story.

Mythmaker: The Story of J.K. Rowling (Who Wrote That?)

Virtually everyone knows her name and the names of her wizarding characters. As the 13th richest woman in England, she earned her fortune in a rather unusual way - by writing books. J.K. Rowling is one of the most popular authors of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Her books about Harry Potter are widely read by adults and children alike and have been translated into more than 64 languages. With the recent completion of the seven-book series, Rowling's popularity is at an all-time high. But Rowling didn't start out famous.